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Cannot Uninstall, Missing Software

Hello all,

I hope my note finds you doing well. My external hard drive (E:\ drive) died and with it went my Zone Alarm software. Since the uninstaller is gone, I find myself unable to fully uninstall it and all of its components, especially the firewall component, TrueVector.

For some reason, TrueVector was not installed on E:\ with the rest of the Zone Alarm software. It installed on my internal hard drive (c:\) under this folder: c:\windows\system32\ZoneLabs. Alas, TrueVector is acting like a virus. It has hijacked my system and seems to have removed my permissions as administrator. It does not allow me to delete the ZoneLabs folder, the executable vsmon.exe, or any of the subfiles. It does not allow me to change anything on my computer anymore! I cannot edit services.msc, msconfig, or regedit. Instead, I get a big "ACCESS DENIED!" error message.

The issue now is how to get rid of TrueVector and all its components (files and registry keys). I appreciate your help and look forward to your replies.

Re: Cannot Uninstall, Missing Software

Hello, thank you for your reply. Alas, I had already seen the instructions provided in the link below and they do not work in my case. I cannot delete ANYTHING from the ZoneLabs folder. I am consistently given the error message "ACCESS DENIED" and told that I do not have rights to the folder or that the file is in use.

At first I tried to right click the file and take ownership of it, but all the permission buttons are grayed out. I have tried to delete this file in Safe Mode and even through a DOS prompt. I killed all the services and start-up items to make sure it was not running, all to no avail. I am still unable to delete this darn file.

I am the only user on this machine and I am the Administrator, but TrueVector does not recognize this. If someone knows how to get this file off my system, I would certainly appreciate it!

Re: Cannot Uninstall, Missing Software

Hi!
in SAFE MODE, no active components of ZA will be running. There is no permission to give (in safe mode). If you cannot delete files in safe mode then your HD partition is damaged, or/and your OS corruted or/and your system is infected by malware.

I think you should save all your important documents, format and reinstall fresh the system.

Re: Cannot Uninstall, Missing Software

Hello Fax, thanks for your reply. Alas, what you describe isn't the case. I have run all my anti-virus software and it returns no evidence of trojans, worms, or malware. My system is running fine, all except for the presence of TrueVector. In fact, the only thing acting like a virus is TrueVector!

The only reason discovered that any of the ZoneAlarm software was still on my system was when I tried to upgrade Internet Explorer and download FireFox. I kept getting the error message that neither program could connect to the internet, even though my cable connection was working just fine. Someone on another forum suggested I run a program called EnumProcess to see if a firewall was hindering IE and Firefox. As far as I knew, I only had the windows firewall running and I disabled it, just to check if it made a difference (which it didn't). Well, I ran EnumProcess and it let me know that I did have another firewall running silently deep in my system: c:\windows\system32\ZoneLabs\TrueVector.

I managed to stop TrueVector from running automatically at start up (it no longer appears in my Task Manager) and now I am able to upgrade IE and download FireFox, so I KNOW TrueVector was the problem! The only issue that remains is that TrueVector will not allow me access to the file: ownership, permissions, the ability to move it, rename it or delete it.

I have no idea why I should have to reformat my hard drive to get rid of this bloody file. Are there no suggestions from ZoneAlarm as to how to disable and remove this component? It is making me absolutely mental that downloading ZoneAlarm would cause this much grief.

Using FileAssassin I was able to delete all of them EXCEPT:vsconfig.xml and vsdatant.sys

Once again, I ran into the problem of being unable to delete these empty folders and remaining files. I tried deleting them in Safe Mode and at the DOS command prompt, but I keep getting the message Access is denied. I am logged in as the Administrator and shown as the owner of the files, but still access is denied. Any thoughts?

[RESOVED] Cannot Uninstall, Missing Software

Indeed, there is no doubt when I am working in Safe Mode. I have to press F8 repeatedly, then I have to chose Safe Mode, then I get a pop-up box letting me know I am working in Safe Mode, my desk top looks different, on and on. No confusion there. However, I still could not delete the files. Not in Safe Mode, not from a DOS prompt, nothing worked!No worries though. I read on another forum that I should boot from my Windows XP installation disk. Using my disk, I was able to get to a C:\ prompt and FINALLY I was able to delete those wretched files. HURRAH! I highly recommend using this technique to EVERYONE who has a problem deleting files or empty folders, Zone Alarm or otherwise.Cheers,Melanie

Last edited by GeorgeV; August 19th, 2009 at 08:09 PM.
Reason: Resolved